Despite efforts by a few states, the U.S. and Canada don’t yet have consistent laws that treat digital data and accounts like physical goods, which can be distributed via an estate after death. As The Wall Street Journal reports, surviving families often find themselves stuck between estate laws (which would give them access to digital data) and privacy laws (which would forbid it).

Some people deal with these problems by creating what are called “social media wills” or simply leaving their passwords and druthers with a trusted person. Spouses sometimes share passwords with each other, for instance, as do some servicemen and women in active combat. There are also commercial services like LegacyLocker.com and SecureSafe.com that allow people to store all of their account information in one place.

Lawyers warn, though, that allowing someone else to access your account after your death–even with your express permission–could break the law because doing so violates the terms of service on many sites.

Without access to passwords and account details for the deceased, families that want to gain access to their loved ones’ data must work within the guidelines set out by the tech companies. Unfortunately, doing so can be a confusing maze because most Web companies approach these questions differently Google for example won’t shut a Gmail account without a court order, while Facebook actively seeks to either shut down accounts belonging to the deceased, or “memorialize” them – a process that leaves the person’s Facebook account online for his existing friend network to see and interact with, but prevents anyone from logging in to it.

Here’s a guide to how some major Internet companies handle the accounts of the deceased as of the end of 2012.

Google
– Won’t disclose passwords for Gmail or for its social network, Google+, or transfer ownership of an account.
– Won’t deactivate an account without a court order.
– May provide contents of a dead user’s account if family mails or faxes proof of the death and family connection, and family meets additional legal requirements such as an order from a U.S. court.
–Doesn’t offer Facebook-style “memorialization” for Google+ accounts.
– More information here.

Facebook
– Won’t disclose passwords or transfer ownership of an account.
– Will remove an account upon request of the family
– Will “memorialize” accounts if notified (not necessarily by a family member) that the user has died. Memorialization prevents anybody from logging into the account but allows friends to post remembrances and memorials to the deceased person’s account.
– Won’t disclose the contents of a deceased user’s account without a legal process.
– More information here.

Yahoo
–Won’t disclose passwords.
– If a user wants his family to have access to his account and after his death, Yahoo recommends he provide consent and his account information (user name, password and/or answers to challenge questions) in his estate plans. Otherwise Yahoo won’t provide families data from the accounts of dead people.
–Will deactivate an account if the estate provides a death certificate via fax or email.
–More information here.

Microsoft
–Won’t disclose passwords or transfer ownership of a Hotmail/Outlook.com account.
–Doesn’t consider it a violation for surviving family that gets a court order or otherwise has authority from the deceased to use his or her password to log into the account.
– Will deactivate an account upon the request of family.
– May provide contents of a dead user’s email if family contacts Microsoft via email and provides other documentation, which depends on location.
– More information here.

Twitter
–Won’t disclose passwords.
–Doesn’t disclose account data without a court order in the U.S.
–Doesn’t offer Facebook-style “memorialization” of accounts.
– Will deactivate an account if a family contacts Twitter with a copy of death certificate, a notarized statement, and other details.
– More information here.

Tumblr
–Won’t disclose passwords or transfer ownership of an account.
– Will remove an account from public view if requested by immediate family.
–Won’t disclose account data without a court order in the U.S.
– Doesn’t offer “memorialization” of accounts.

LinkedIn
– Won’t disclose passwords for accounts, or transfer ownership of an account.
– Allows others (even beyond family members or executors) to report the death of a member, which causes the account and its data to be hidden from public view. People reporting deceased members usually must know the email address associated with the deceased person’s account.
– If a family specifically requests it, will delete an account and all of its data.
– Will not provide account data to others, including family members, unless required by a court.
– Doesn’t offer Facebook-style “memorialization” for accounts.
– More info here.